20th Century History

Churchill Said, "Don't Grieve for Me Too Much"
Before Winston Churchill left for the Western Front during World War I, he wrote a letter to his wife of seven years, Clementine, which was to be opened only upon...

Prince Charles: The Oldest Waiting Heir
On November 14, 2008, Prince Charles celebrated his 60th birthday. As his peers begin to reach retirement, Prince Charles has become the oldest British monarch-in-waiting. (The next oldest was Queen...

Jonestown Massacre Pre-Planned
On November 18, 1978, members of the People's Temple (a cult led by Rev. Jim Jones) committed mass suicide at their Jonestown compound in Guyana. Over 900 people drank the...

Berlin Airlift Airport Closed
After much controversy, the historic Tempelhof Airport in Berlin was officially closed on October 30, 2008. The Tempelhof Airport had a long history, beginning with being built in the 1930s...

Nazi Graveyard in Amazon Rainforest
In 1935, the Nazi government sponsored an expedition of three Nazi researchers to Brazil. Their mission was to explore the area and determine the feasibility of establishing a Germany colony...

Huge and Mysterious Explosion in Siberia
At 7:14 a.m. on June 30, 1908, a giant explosion shook central Siberia. The explosion caused a magnitude 5.0 earthquake and leveled 80 million trees. Although many believe a meteor...

Studs Terkel Dies
In a strange quirk of fate, I happen to be in the middle of reading Studs Terkel's book, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression when I heard...

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Opened
On October 10, 2008, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site held its grand opening. Located on the campus of Tuskegee University near Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, the historic site...

Cooking Hitler's Favorite Meal
When the news broke that an episode of a Belgian cooking TV show was to feature how to cook Adolf Hitler's favorite meal, many people were outraged. The episode, one...

25th Anniversary of the Beirut Bombing
At 6:22 a.m. on October 23, 1983, a truck carrying explosives drove into the United States barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The massive explosion, estimated to be the equivalent of six...